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EXHIBITION PROGRAMME
Please note that it is necessary to close the galleries
before and after exhibitions to allow for re-hanging. Please check that we are open during these periods.
The Orangery Café and the Shop remain open at all times.
Exhibitions and dates may be subject to change: please telephone in advance if you are planning a special journey.
18 JUNE - 10 SEPTEMBER 2005
Painting on the Edge: Britain's Seaside Art Colonies
Organised by Penlee House and the University of Northumbria, this major
survey exhibition puts the Newlyn and Lamorna artists' work in context
with that of their near-contemporaries in other British sea-side art
colonies in St. Ives, Walberswick (Suffolk), Staithes (Yorkshire),
Cullercoats (Northumbria), Kirkcudbright (Dumfries & Galloway) and
Cockburnspath (Scottish Border). The cross-over between the colonies is
fascinating, and many names appear in more than one place. The
exhibition will include works by Newlyn painters Frank Bramley, Walter
Langley (who also painted at Walberswick), Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes
and Fred Hall, and Lamorna group artists Lamorna Birch, A. J. Munnings,
Harold and Laura Knight (who also worked at Staithes) and Charles Naper.
The show also includes works by Mark Senior, Charles Mackie, Isa Jobling,
Philip Wilson Steer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, George Clausen and
George Henry, among others, on loan from public and private collections
throughout the UK. The exhibition is accompanied by a substantial,
lavishly illustrated publication, with essays on each of the colonies,
priced at £24.95 softback and £35.00 hardback.
17 SEPTEMBER - 19 NOVEMBER 2005
Charles Simpson (1885 - 1971)
This exhibition celebrates the distinguished career of Penzance-based
painter Charles Walter Simpson, whose many books and magazine
illustrations brought him extensive acclaim. Born in Surrey, Simpson
turned to painting when a riding accident prevented him from following a
military career. He was particularly drawn to painting horses, a skill
he developed while studying at the School of Painting in Bushey under
the animal painter Lucy Kemp-Welch, and by working with Alfred Munnings
in Norfolk in the early 1900s; it was Munnings who encouraged him to
visit Cornwall. In 1913 Simpson married fellow artist Ruth Alison and
moved to Newlyn, later residing in Lamorna and then London before
settling permanently in Penzance. Best known for his paintings of birds
and animals, this show, which is accompanied by a biography of the
artist by John Branfield (Sansom & Co.), includes both familiar and
unusual examples of his work, from public and private collections. Ground
floor galleries; selection of Newlyn School works on show upstairs in
Gallery 5.
26 NOVEMBER 2005 - 21 JANUARY 2006
Cornish Serpentine
The production of items made from Serpentine was one of Cornwall’s
great Victorian industries. The exhibition includes items ranging from
small novelty objects, produced as seaside souvenirs, to larger,
specially commissioned pieces. It features work produced by workshops in
Truro and on the Lizard alongside that of Penzance’s three companies:
Stevens, Drews and the famous Penzance Serpentine works at Wherrytown.
The show coincides with the launch of a book about Serpentine, written
by Mike Sagar-Fenton, published by Truran. Ground floor galleries
2 - 4; selection of Newlyn School works on show upstairs in Gallery
5.
26 NOVEMBER 2005 - 7 JANUARY 2006
Cornwall Crafts Association
This annual selling exhibition has become a popular fixture in the
Penlee House programme. Founded in 1973, Cornwall Crafts Association
have developed a reputation for representing the best of contemporary
Cornish craft. The show is filled with unique and unusual potential
gifts and all work is available for immediate purchase. FREE ADMISSION
to this exhibition. Ground floor gallery 1; selection of Newlyn
School works in Gallery 5 (Cornish Serpentine on show in Galleries 2 -
4).
14 JANUARY - 25 MARCH 2006
The Richards Brothers
William Richards, founder of a dynasty of famous Penzance photographers,
was born in 1835 and established himself in the photography business in
the 1850s through his wife’s stepfather, William Jenkyn. The business
was handed down from father to sons, through four generations, finally
closing its doors in 1977. In a century and a quarter, the Richards
family captured Penzance in all its aspects, from family likenesses to
shipwrecks, civic events to townscapes. The majority of the family’s
negatives are now in the collection of Morrab Library and this
exhibition has been curated in collaboration with their staff, using
these holdings. The show is also in conjunction with the ‘Echoes’
oral history project, organised by Golowan Community Arts, whose
collection of archive recordings provide background material to
accompany the images. Gallery 1; selection of Newlyn School works on
show in all other galleries after 28th January (Cornish
Serpentine until 21st January).
1 APRIL - 10 JUNE 2006
John Brett: A Pre-Raphaelite in Cornwall
The Pre-Raphaelite painter John Brett ARA (1831 - 1902) is perhaps best
known for his painting ‘The Stone Breaker’ (The Walker, Liverpool),
but he also spent time painting the landscape in various parts of
Britain. This exhibition focuses on his stunning paintings of the
Cornish coast: dramatic, superbly detailed compositions, depicting the
county’s inexhaustible variety of spectacular coastal scenes. Brett
first visited Cornwall on honeymoon in 1870, staying on the Lizard, and
returned repeatedly, usually for several months at a time, over the next
thirty years. In all, he produced over two hundred paintings of
Cornwall, ranging from large Academy pieces such as ‘Golden Prospects’
(Castle Museum, Nottingham), to small-scale studies, executed – and
sometimes sold – on the spot. The exhibition is accompanied by a
lavishly illustrated book, published by Sansom & Co. Ground floor
galleries; selection of Newlyn School works on show upstairs in Gallery
5.
For further details of exhibitions or to confirm
opening during exhibition change-overs, please phone the Gallery on
+44 (0)1736 363625,
Fax +44 (0)1736 361312 or email
Page last updated: 26/1/2005
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